University of Washington Athletics

The Husky women's tennis team has gotten off to one of the best starts in program history at 13-1 overall and 3-0 in the Pac-12, and the unsung heroes may be the newest members of the team.

The four freshman, Nika Zupancic, Sedona Gallagher, Zoey Weil and Delara Zamani have all earned significant playing time, not only in the fall season but well into the dual match season. The freshman have competed, excelled and vaulted the team to a national scale.

The Dawgs are on an eight match winning streak and have reached as high as No. 7 in the ITA team rankings. With seven more conference matches remaining, these Huskies are not satisfied yet.

While there has been much success on the court, the four freshman believe the reason for the team's hot start to the season has been the close-knit bond that the team has, in part thanks to the culture the upperclassmen have set.

"They've done a really good job of leading by example," said Weil on the team's senior leadership. "They know all of the things that they don't want their team to look like. They have a clear vision of what they want the team to look like and they go all in to make that happen. A lot of time people commit to a college and they think they're going to love everyone, and it's going to be an amazing experience. But it has been that way for me and a dream come true. Everyone gets along so well, we're all so committed, it's special."

Weil joined the team at the semester mark and has already made a strong impact, going 5-3 with sophomore Vanessa Wong in the second spot in the doubles lineup.

"One thing for us is that we have competed really well in matches against high level competition," continued Weil. "If we continue to push ourselves and continue to be in those situations against good teams, then we'll just keep getting better. I don't think we've played dour best yet, which is exciting."

Gallagher has been a mainstay in both the singles and doubles lineups as she holds a 9-2 record in singles dual matches as well as a 9-1 record in doubles matches.

Gallagher came to UW as a heralded recruit and a big part of her decision was the comfortability with the senior leadership.

"The seniors were a big part in my decision to come here. I thought their personalities and mindset were great. It was something I really wanted to be a part of. Throughout the year, I've gotten to know them a lot better and we as freshman want to keep it going."

Gallagher loves the determination that everyone on the team possesses and a focus not only to get better individually to help her fellow teammates.

"Everyone is so invested," continued Gallagher. "Every day we all show up on time and everyone does their job. To get an entire team to be that committed, the results will come. It's been a crazy experience so far. I never thought it would be this intense but it's been really fun to be surrounded by nine or ten of your best friends every single day."

Zamani is another example of someone who executes her role when called upon. She is 4-0 in dual doubles matches and holds a 14-3 overall record in doubles play dating back to the fall season.

"I think we've done a good job of not focusing on the wins but getting better day by day," commented Zamani. "It's the little things that have made a big difference in our season. Being very connected with each other and all pushing each other to work harder every day."

Zupancic credits the senior leadership of Stacey Fung and Kenadi Hance as reasons for why the four freshman were able to come in and contribute so quickly and at a high level.

"When I came in, I was scared of the seniors. Everyone tells you that's how it's supposed to be. They made this happen. They made sacrifices in the past for this program to be what it is today. I feel like we are all really grateful for what they did. This is a great way to finish their senior year."

Zupancic, who was a walk-on and recently earned a scholarship, is currently ranked No. 42 in the ITA doubles rankings with Fung at 8-2 in dual matches, playing in the top spot in the lineup, and 16-4 overall.

She has also been getting it done in single play as she is 5-1 in dual matches playing in the sixth spot in the lineup. One of the bigger moments of her freshman year was earning the clinching point in a 4-3 victory over #14 NC State at the ITA National Team Indoor Championships.

"This is not something that happens every season, "said Zupancic. "We're 13-1 and it's one of the best seasons we've had in over 20 years. Everyone on the team works so hard to get to this point. Everyone is so committed to what they're doing. It looks easy but to get to where we've gotten it definitely wasn't. It made us realize that our hard work was paying off. Being in the top-10 is definitely a big thing. Everyone on the team is more motivated now because they know that we can go even farther and that's the goal for everyone."

All four freshman credit each other as being supportive of each other on and off the tennis court. While they are self-described as very different from one another they have a strong friendship that has already made a difference.

"It's really interesting because we've come from different walks of life and we all are in the same place," said Gallagher. "That's everyone on the team though. It makes a really good team environment. You learn something new every day."

 "It's interesting how you take four people very different and we've being united by tennis. It's crazy how sports can do that to people," boasted Zeil on the freshman. "We all add different perspectives to the team, especially having so many new people."

"We're like four musketeers," commented Zupancic. "We're all different character wise and tennis wise. I'm happy to have three other people to share this freshman experience with. I have them to talk about it with. I'm happy we get along that well."

Lucky for Husky fans, these four freshman are here to stay and look to continue the tradition and success that has been paramount in their early time as Huskies.